Related

The 19-year-old Mercersburg man accused of causing the fatal accident that killed one and injured five people will face a preliminary hearing on Thursday at Franklin County Central Court.

Alexx Sheffield, 1402 Buchanan Trail West, was allegedly driving just before 11 p.m. on June 1, when he ran the stop sign at intersection with Lemar Road, lost control of his vehicle and struck a telephone pole. At the time of the crash, there were six occupants, and Sheffield was identified as the driver.

Sheffield had been taken to Chambersburg Hospital, while 18-year-old Marita Shaffer, of Greencastle, was taken to York Hospital, according to the original police report. Shaffer died of her injuries on June 5, according to her obituary. The other four passengers were taken to either Chambersburg Hospital or Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown Md.

When police interviewed one of the unidentified male passengers, he stated that he remembered Sheffield was driving at a high rate of speed and was having difficulty controlling the vehicle, according to court documents. In a later interview, the same victim stated that Sheffield was driving recklessly and had 'jumped" the hill at high speeds.

The first male passenger and another male passenger both claimed that Sheffield tried to flee the scene. The first passenger told police he saw Sheffield grab the license plate before trying to flee the scene.

Advertisement

A second unidentified passenger told police they saw Sheffield attempting to leave the scene, but stopped him with the assistance of another male passenger.

When police spoke with Christie Lee Sheffield on June 10, she told police she had left the keys to her vehicle in the car because she was expecting it to be repossessed. When she noticed the vehicle went missing overnight, she reported it stolen. Alexx then told his mother that he had taken the vehicle and driven it into a ditch, then had it towed. She told police that he had taken the vehicle without her knowledge or consent.

Once it was determined that the vehicle was not stolen and was the vehicle involved in the crash, Christie Sheffield told police that her son did not have permission to use the vehicle.

When police check with PennDOT, they found Alex Sheffield did not possess a valid drivers license.

According to the initial police report, Shaffer was one of two females in the vehicle, the other being a 15-year-old from Greencastle. The only other identified passenger was Willard Massie, 18, and the remaining passengers were a 17-year-old boy from Fort Loudon and a 17-year-old boy from Mercersburg.

Sheffield is facing one count each of involuntary manslaughter, accidents involving death or personal injury while not properly licensed, aggravated assault by vehicle, homicide by vehicle, unauthorized use of automobiles, driving on roadways laned for traffic, violations of stop signs, violation of driving at safe speeds, reckless driving, and five counts of recklessly endangering another person.